


She Took the (Midnight) Train

by Livefrommybedroom



Series: Missed Connections in the Second City [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chicago (City), F/M, Missed Connections, One Shot, POV Rey (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 12:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13547754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livefrommybedroom/pseuds/Livefrommybedroom
Summary: Meeting strangers (read hot strangers) on the train while she was sweaty as hell, definitely wasn't the way she wanted this day to go.





	She Took the (Midnight) Train

The August heat was stifling. 

It was the kind of heat that made every part of your body sweat, even if you weren’t doing anything. Pavements melted, pigeons keeled over and people practically ran from building to building to avoid from being in the sticky, hot mess that was the outdoors. She was even flustered under the heat, on this small, cramped rush hour train. Every part of her body ached with the need for the sweet release of the air conditioning, but the train had been stalled for far too long and the restless commuters were getting even more restless. 

Normally, Rey didn’t mind the heat. Growing up in Australia taught you to grin and bear it, especially heat considered. But this Chicago summertime heat? This was truly hell on Earth. Her hair was disheveled from brushing it back and away from her face, fly-aways framing the red tone of her normally tan complexion. Her suit was stuck to her in every odd and uncomfortable way, her thighs chaffed, her will-power sagging, her normally calm and cheerful demeanor breaking under the heated pressure. She brushed another palm against her forehead, wishing to dispel some moisture as the train remained at its standstill. 

It was six thirty in the evening on a Thursday and Rey had just finished up her shift at Rebels and Resistance, a summer camp for underprivileged and foster children on the south side. She had gotten involved with the program the summer before as a part of her Masters of Social Work thesis. Leia Organa, head of her program at Loyola University, personally recommended her for the role as a counselor and then had her promoted to camp director this year. Rey loved the work, but the commute was hellish, and the days were long; so unbearably long in this hot and horrible weather. Half the campers hadn’t even shown that day, electing to stay inside of their air conditioned homes instead of traipsing halfway across Bronzeville and Kenwood to meet her near Washington Park in a rundown, stuffy gym. Her counselors: Poe, Finn, Jessika, and Rose had decided that today was to be a beach day and trekked across Lake Shore Drive to the crystaline waters of Lake Michigan, while Rey sat inside and balanced the budget, made appropriate cuts, tinkered around, and sweated off twenty pounds possibly. 

And her hellish day had still yet to end. Citing a medical emergency, the Brown Line up to her apartment in Roscoe Village was at a stop, not moving, unchanging, and she was starting to sweat through her underwear. 

She leaned against the cool metal bar on the train, sagging and letting her neck and head drop. She daydreamed about what she would do when she got home. She had to let her Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, BB-8, out, but perhaps Poe had already done that. She didn’t really fancy taking the dog for a walk in the heat; BB-8 was horrible to walk, racing through people, trees, and inanimate objects, before plopping down and demanding a belly rub or she wouldn’t walk any further. Maybe Rey would lay in bed with her fan on full blast, headphones in, and a glass-no, a bottle of sweet red sangria next to her. Maybe she could discreetly stick her head in the freezer, hoping to God that Poe wouldn’t-

The train lurched, the conductor coming over the intercom stating that they would be moving and running express from Sedgwick to Belmont, much to the displeasure of the overheated passengers. Many moved to get off and take the next train but Rey stayed put. She didn’t mind if they ran express, it meant a few less moments in the air conditioning, but more time enjoying the hopefully cool house at home. She smiled warily at the passengers who remained on the train, watching to see if there was a seat for her. Her hazel eyes scanned the train and that’s when she saw him. 

He was slouched in a single seat, elbow resting against the window, phone cradled against his ear. He ran a rather large hand through his wavy, disheveled hair, then rubbed his eye with the back of his hand. He was in a three piece, slate blue linen suit with a white shirt and a large brown leather band watch on his wrist. She knew he was tall because of the way that he seemed cramped in the seat, knees almost touching his chest, where a leather messenger bag rested. 

Rey’s eyes traveled up his body to his face and her soul almost left her body. His skin was a pale porcelain and he was rocking a small amount of facial hair. Moles dotted his face, adding to the perfection that was sculpted by some ancient Renaissance artist. He had high cheekbones carved into the marble of his face, with a strong and high nose, and full red lips that were slightly parted to show uneven teeth. His eyes-his eyes! Rey swore that they changed with the passing light. Deep brown, then gold, then maybe hazel, and back to brown. He was the kind of handsome that if you walked past him on the street, you would stop and stare, losing all breath in your lungs, willing to forget your plans for the day to follow a beautiful stranger around. 

She was mesmerized. 

He was speaking quietly into the phone, but his lips moved in a silent song that unlocked Rey’s every need and desire. She was enraptured by this handsome stranger on her train- so enthralled that she forgot it was one hundred degrees outside, that her feet were tired, that she was sweaty and definitely in need of a shower. She forgot that she was on a train, on planet earth, in this galaxy; she was lost in her thoughts and this infinite space between them. 

His eyes flicked up meeting hers for a brief moment. He was almost sizing her up, determining who she was and what impact she may have on his life. His lips twitched into a half smile and if Rey was still somehow living after this encounter with a real-life angel, she wasn’t sure of anything anymore. 

The train slowed to a stop, and he got out of his seat, still keeping eye-contact with her, unfurling his body from the seat to his full height. He passed through the cramped bodies, still keeping eye contact before he ducked under the doorway and stepped out onto the platform. He stood on the platform as the doors closed, watching her as the train pulled away, eyebrow quirked and hands inside of his pants pockets. 

It was only until she could no longer see the platform, that she remembered how to breathe. 

***  
The next time that she saw him, it was a breezy fall day. The leaves had just started to change, creating a world of oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. Rey had a new dress on that reached just above her knees- a gift to herself for submitting her thesis to her advisors only a few days behind schedule. She held a bottle of pinot grigio in one hand and bag with the ingredients for a fantastic pizza inside. She was meeting Finn and Rose and Jessika’s house for an impromptu Sunday dinner. 

The beats of Oh Wonder’s “Body Gold” flowed through her headphones and she bobbed her head along to the music. The train was busy, the Cubs had just made it to the playoffs for the second year in a row and Wrigleyville was a non-stop party. She would probably end up in some trashy bar like Sluggers or Cubby Bear before the night ended, singing along to some catchy pop song she wouldn’t be able to get out of her head for the next three days. 

The door opened at Fullerton and more fans poured into the doors, crowding the already busy train. Rey thrived on the chaos of a busy train, but silently hated all the out-of-town fans who had no train etiquette and were usually obnoxiously drunk. A tall body sidled up next to hers and grabbed for the overhead bar. She glanced up and identified a wrist watch that had been a part of her wet dreams for the better part of two months. 

Today, he was dressed down and probably attending the game. He had on a black scoop neck sweater that definitely looked like cashmere and equally dark wash jeans, slung low on his hips that moulded against his ass. A Cubs hat was tucked over his hair and a pair of dark Ray Bans were situated over his eyes. He was speaking animatedly to a shorter, pale-faced and red haired man, and a very tall blonde woman on the other side of him. 

The train stopped abruptly on the track and Rey, who wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, felt a cold liquid slither down her back. 

“Oh shit!” a drunk fan called from behind her, a giggle breaking into their speech, nearly (now) empty cup in their hand. 

Rey took a deep breath and went to turn around to call out the belligerent fan, but the tall stranger beat her to it. She turned around to see the stranger gripping the fan’s shirt with two fists, fury clear on his face. 

“Apologize, asshole,” he growled, and oh, Rey didn’t know that she was into that. 

The burly fan squeaked out an apology and the stranger released his shirt before turning to Rey. 

“I’m sorry about your dress,” he said in a much softer voice. 

Rey was dumbfounded. He spoke to her. His voice was exactly like what she thought he sounded like, late at night, when she was alone in her room. Did he recognize her from the first train ride? His deep and dark eyes were searching hers as if he was trying to find some hidden secret below. She gasped at the clear emotion on his face. There was a little bit of surprise, some lust, but mostly concern. She stared back at him, unsure of how to answer, but ready to take any and all leaps that he offered her. 

And then, he was pulling off his dark sweater to reveal an equally dark shirt underneath, and passing the soft garment to her. 

“Uh, I can’t-” she stuttered out, but he just smiled and tugged the sweater over her head. 

“I don’t want you to be cold,” he said with a devilish smile.

The train pulled to a stop outside of Addison and his friends were calling him to exit the train. 

“Wait!” Rey called, “How will I get this back to you?”

“You’ll find a way,” he said with a wink and exited the train into the beautiful setting sun. 

She shifted the rest of the sweater on, fingering the soft hemline, smiling to herself. 

***

The next time she sees him, she accidentally swipes left. 

She’s laying in bed, Poe next to her; the both of them swiping through eligible matches on Tinder and Grindr. She’s been looking out for him, his sweater having lost its earthy and sandalwood scent weeks ago. Poe had suggested Tinder as a way to find her mystery man and return the sweater. This is the second night of these escapades, her matches proving unfruitful for the tall, dark and mysterious stranger. 

She is underwhelmed with the choice of male on the app. Brad is a financial analyst and looks like Alex, who sells houses, who also looks like Josh, who is “taking a break” from his job at the bank to “find himself” as he travels across the United States, while playing his guitar. Rey is swiping left more than she is right and Poe is laughing at her. 

Her thumb hovers as the next profile populates. 

“Holy shit Poe, it’s him!”

The profile says that his name is Ben and he’s thirty, almost eight years older than Rey. In his main photo, he’s standing on a rooftop downtown in a black overcoat with a light blue shirt and a darker colored tie. He’s wearing a huge smile on his face, shoulder length hair wind blown across his face. Snow’s dusting his shoulders and Rey doesn’t think she’s seen anything so beautiful and breathless at the same time. 

And then Poe reaches out blindly for her phone, but she jerks it too hard away from him in order to swipe right, causing her thumb to move and unfortunately swipe left. She lets out a shriek of pain, Poe metaphorically stabbing her through the heart in his desperate attempts to see the man that Rey has been going on about for months. Poe sidles out of bed, walks out of her room, and returns a moment later with a bottle of gin and two glasses. 

She gives him a glare, but reaches for a glass, downing it in two gulps. 

“Sod off,” she says, watching Poe’s amused smirk. 

He just laughs.

***

The fourth time she sees him, he’s in a photo frame on Leia’s desk. She’s visiting the dean to pick up her letter of recommendation for a social work conference in Washington D.C. It’s a bitterly cold February day and she spends at least ten minutes in Leia’s office taking off her outerwear while chatting with her mentor and boss about some mundane task she did the other day at Rebels and Resistance. She finally pulls off her hat and that’s when she sees it. 

“Who is that?” she asks, pointing a finger at a framed photo of the man from the train in a cap and gown, and a older man next to him. 

“Oh?” Leia asks, turning around to gaze at the photo before reaching and taking it off the shelf. She chuckles a little to herself. “This is my son, Ben, and my husband Han. They’re such cuties. This was right after Ben got his Masters. He used to not get along with us, but it’s much better now. Every family has their issues, I guess.”

She glances up at Rey’s stunned face and wide eyes. 

“Rey?” she asks softly. “What’s the matter?”

Rey can’t tell her boss that she’s been having vivid sex dreams about her son for weeks, no months now; she can’t tell her about the sweater; she can only stand there in complete and utter shock, mouth opening and closing like a fish. 

“I know your son,” she settles with. 

“Oh! How did you two meet?”

I starred awkwardly at him in on the train for a good five minutes. And then he gave me a sweater. And then I swiped left on him. It’s been a very trying few months.

“Over the summer, on the train. I don’t get to see him very much.”

“Well it’s a good thing that you’re presenting at this conference. His company is hosting it. You’ll get to spend plenty of time with him in D.C.”

WHAT?!

Rey thanks Leia for the letter before slowly picking up her letter, grabbing her things, and running from Leia’s office, mind a flurry of thoughts and emotions. 

***  
Poe and Jessika promptly take her to Wicker Park to their favorite vintage store for a wardrobe update when they hear of Rey’s dilema. As she tries on vintage suit after suit, Jessika reads Ben’s Wikipedia page from the other side of the curtain. 

“Ben Solo, CEO and founder of non-profit First Order, is a humanitarian and psychology professor at the University of Chicago. Born in Chicago in 1986 to Leia Organa Solo, founder of Rebels and Resistance, and Han Solo, art curator, Ben attended Stanford University in Stanford, California for his undergraduate degree and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts for his Masters degree. At Harvard, he began developing a theory about childhood sense of self and of others. He continued his research at the University of Cambridge in London, England, during his doctoral pursuits, and was awarded a doctoral degree in 2014. He began teaching at the University of Chicago in 2014 and is a contract professor for Stanford,” Jessika read aloud. 

Rey stepped out of the dressing room in a deep purple vintage suit, turning before her friends, gauging their reactions. Jess shook her head and Poe wrinkled his nose, causing her to retreat back into the dressing room. 

“What is First Order?” Poe asked as Rey slipped out of the suit, and into a black slip dress. 

She stepped out of the dressing room and Jess gasped and smiled very wide; Poe gave her two thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and headed back into the room. 

“It’s a program that focuses on settling refugees in countries around the world. Supposedly they’re contracted by the UN,” Jess says. 

That’s impressive. 

“Holy fuck! His net worth is eight million dollars!” Poe exclaims. 

Rey laughs and Poe sticks his head in the curtain. 

“Doll, if you don’t fuck him,” he states, “I will.”

“Also, I’m buying that dress for you.”

***

Rey sees him before he sees her. He’s in a black suit and bow tie at the annual gala before the conference. Rey is wearing the vintage black slip dress with a slit that goes halfway up her thigh and hugs her almost non-existent curves. Jess had her doing squats for weeks to “build up her ass” before the conference and Rey is very grateful, because she looks hot as fuck in this dress. She’s paired the outfit with a pair of emerald pumps that she stole from Rose and her hair is swept back into a low chignon. She sweeps into the room with all the grace and poise she can muster, making a beeline for the tall and handsome doctor’s back. 

She grabs a flute of champagne and is about to enter into his eyesight but is swept away by another presenter to talk logistics about her research on the American foster care system. She’s suddenly speaking with several impressive donors, when a large hand comes to cover her lower back area. 

“Dr. Solo, are you enjoying the gala?” Dr. Ackbar, one of Rey’s thesis readers, asks. 

“Yes,of course. It’s wonderful to see everyone as always,” Ben’s low rumble comes from next to her. “I’m not sure that we’ve met,” he says, extending a hand to her. 

“Oh, this is Rey Kenobi! She’s one of your mother’s students at Loyola. She has a brilliant theory on the American foster care system and how to iron out some of the kinks,” Ackbar says. 

“Perhaps you can tell me more during a dance?” Ben asks her. 

“I would like that very much,” Rey says before excusing herself from the doctors and following her companion to the floor. 

His hand again finds it place on her lower back, the other clasping her hand tightly in his own large one. He looks downright sinful in his suit, the sharp lines complimenting the angular shape of his jaw and nose. His lips are as red as the day she first saw him and his tounge snakes out to lick them lightly. His bowtie is a little crooked but it’s endearing in a way and Rey almost wants to straighten it. 

“You look stunning,” he tells her, dipping his head close to hers to whisper in her ear.  
She grins, preening under his compliment. If she was a flower and his compliments were the sun and rain, she would be thriving. She wants to say something but she’s not sure what to say, only that some unknowing force is pushing them together in this moment. 

“I still have your sweater.”

“Hm, here?”

She nods. 

“In my room.”

“Well, I made need to personally retrieve later. From your room. Make sure everything is ok.”

She understands his insinuation and gazes up at him through her lashes. 

“Why wait?”

***  
He’s sitting in a chair on the balcony just outside of her room when she wakes. The sun has just started to rise, and he slowly sips coffee as he reads through some papers. She picks up his dress shirt from the floor and tugs it on, slowly buttoning it up. She then raises her arms over her head, clasping her middle fingers together and slowly stretches from side to side, relishing in the delicious burn in her muscles from last night.

She pads out onto the balcony, and wraps her arms around him from behind, reaching for the fruit in front of him. She presses a kiss to that spot that she found behind his ear last night and he lets out a soft groan. 

“Morning,” he says, his voice still a little rumbly from sleep. 

She hums against his neck and then he’s pulling her into his lap to kiss her senseless. He smells like sandalwood, the outdoors, and sex and tastes like coffee and toast. His thumbs tuck into the divets near her hips, softly stroking the skin there. The papers he was reading are being crushed between the two of them as they languidly kiss, the sun making its way into the morning hours. 

He pulls away from the kiss to look deep into her eyes, his thumb slowly stroking her face. She leans into the touch and offers him a smile. He returns the smile and presses a chaste kiss to her forehead before speaking. 

“I’d like to take you out to dinner, when we get back to Chicago.”

She smiles again. 

“I’d like that.”

They sit in silence for a few more moments, Rey eventually moving to her own chair, but keeping her feet in Ben’s lap. She slowly sips coffee, watching him in his horn-rimmed glasses glance over the papers on the table. He keeps glancing up at her, almost waiting for the moment she inevitably disappears, becoming the stranger on the train again. 

He finally removes his glasses, running a hand over his eyes, and then smiling at her. 

“What time is your first session?” he asks, rubbing a hand up and down her calf.

“Nine. We’ve still got some time.”

“I suppose we do. I can think of a few things to do in the meanwhile.”

She all but launches herself into his lap, latching her lips onto his, him chuckling, before standing with her wrapped in his arms, moving towards the bed, and their new favorite morning activities. 

***

The next time she sees him, she doesn’t see him. He sees her. She’s pouring over some vintage door knobs at an art walk in Ravenswood, hair tucked into three buns, jean cutoffs showing off her long, tanned legs. 

He’s appreciating her from a distance, like he did almost a year ago. He had seen her when he entered the train and in all her disheveled glory, he thought that she looked like the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. He was so floored that he had sat there gaping at her on the platform at Washington and Wells, completely ignorant to whatever Hux was saying on the phone. 

“Solo? Ben? Ben?” Hux had asked multiple times, but Ben was enthralled with this creature in the mid-August heat. 

And now she was here, scavenging for something that would spark her creativity and curiosity, something that would make her smile that kilowatt smile that made Ben’s knees turn to pudding and his heart race. The metal key in his pocket felt heavier than ever as his eyes followed her movements across the vintage stall. She paid for her purchases from the vendor, turned around and saw him. 

She all but ran over to him, excited to show him her purchases. When she reached him, she threw her arms around pulled him down to her level for a long kiss, something Ben would have never done in public. But she makes him do crazy things, like pull off his sweater on a crowded L train, or ask her to move in with him after only a few months of dating. She pulls away slowly, her lips lingering against his, hands resting lightly against his chest, bag bumping awkwardly between the two of them. 

“You’re late,” she said with a smile. 

He just hums and leans in for another kiss, which she expertly dodges. 

“Come on, Ben! I want to look at the furniture!”

He freezes, looking at her, thinking of the key in his pocket. 

“Uh...I thought your place had enough furniture?”

She just laughs and starts dragging him through the crowd. 

“You’re not very good at hiding things,” she says, pulling him to a stop underneath a large oak tree. “I found the key three weeks ago.”

He silently curses himself for not hiding it better as her hands find their way into his hair and tug him down for a toe curling, blood rushing kiss. They pull away after a few moments, breathless, before she speaks again. 

“If I’m moving in with you, Bee Bee Eight gets to sleep in the bed.”

He rolls his eyes and pulls her in for another kiss. The dog debate will have to wait; he’s content to stay here, in this moment, in this force that is Rey, forever.


End file.
